Three Republicans are competing in the May 1 mayoral primary: Bill Ketron, a state senator and former county commissioner; Tina Jones, a former county commissioner and Murfreesboro field agent with U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais' office; and Randy Allen, the former director of community impact for the United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties.

Earlier this month, the commission voted 21-0 to reject allowing the landfill owners to conduct testing to determine whether expansion was possible on 288 acres off East Jefferson Pike by the Stones River in the Walter Hill community.

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Jake Burkhalter, a Blackman resident and member with Statewide Organization for Community Empowerment (SOCM), talks about his opposition to the private Middle Point Landfill being able to expand onto an adjacent 288 acres owned by the Rutherford County government.
Scott Broden/DNJ

The Daily News Journal asked the GOP candidates their thoughts on the future of Middle Point Landfill, which is expected to fill up in eight to 12 years.

Allen: Remove existing landfill

"I would like to see the mountain of trash totally gone," Allen said. "How do we do that? How do we get away from taking everybody else’s trash? This comes down to quality of life and putting Rutherford County first."

Allen said he'd like to examine ways to take what's in the landfill and transport it elsewhere. Other options, like waste-to-energy possibilities, including a gasification process that involves the burning organic trash at high temperatures, should be studied, he said.

The county also needs to work with the cities to increase recycling and listen to the residents who deal with the landfill every day, said Allen, who agreed that a Middle Point expansion plan on county land was a bad idea.

"I think the commission made a great decision," Allen said. "I don’t want Rutherford County to be known for the largest mountain trash in the southeast or this part of the country. I want it to be known as a great place to live and raise your family and a great place to work."

Jones: Stop accepting out-of-county trash

"I think it’s time for Rutherford County to be the first priority," Jones said. "We should take care of Rutherford County trash only and discontinue seeing trash from other counties and from other states being dumped into our community."

"I think that we need to evaluate where we are with Middle Point Landfill," Jones said. "We need to look at alternatives, such as WastAway."

Headquartered in nearby Warren County, WastAway collects trash in an industrial warehouse. Metals are removed from the refuse and the rest is baked into a fluff material that can be used as a potting soil product or converted into fuel-source pellets.

Jones said she wants to arrange a trip for the commissioners and other interested parties to see the WastAway operation.

"That’s definitely what I want to look into to see if that is a viable option for Rutherford County," Jones said.

Ketron: Expand recycling programs

Ketron identified Middle Point Landfill as one of his top issues to address when he announced his campaign in July. The senator said he will honor the commission's decision to not sell county land to enable the expansion of Middle Point Landfill.

"However, that doesn’t mean we can’t move forward in trying to reduce future waste," Ketron said, adding he and his wife were on Recycle Rutherford's founding board in 1994. "I think moving forward we have to look at changing the mindset of the citizens of Rutherford County of being more open-minded of a more organized recycling program."

He said he'd like to see local restaurants participate in a composting program similar to one in Nashville's Sylvan Park community that reduced trash by 30 percent.

If elected, Ketron said he and the commissioners should examine gasification as another possible way to get rid of trash.

Ketron also suggested using the $1 tire tax to purchase shredders. The shredded rubber can be used as a base for asphalt on road projects or under playground equipment.

Given that glass is no longer a commodity with a money value, Ketron said he'd like to examine crushing this as a recycling material that can be used in the concrete industry.

Ketron also wants to invest in a commercial dryer that can take liquid sludge from Murfreesboro and Smyrna sewer operations and turn it into pellets that can be sold for fertilizer.

Ketron campaigned in 1990 on landfill issues as an unsuccessful candidate for county executive (now called mayor) when he sought to prevent BFI from buying Middle Point.

By 2007, Ketron and other members of the county's legislative delegation serving in the Tennessee General Assembly met with Middle Point representives to stop the landfill from accepting low-level radioactive waste.

Given the county's population could double by 2035, so could the amount of solid waste —unless county officials take steps to reduce what ends up at landfills, Ketron said.